Louder than Sirens
by TheLadyLepida
Summary: One hundred ways to fall in love, one hundred ways to hurt the one you love. One hundred ways to come together, one hundred ways to fall apart. Chou and Tae, from the beginning to the end. Inspired by the 100 Themes Challenge.


_**Louder than Sirens**_

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"_louder than sirens_

_louder than bells_

_sweeter than heaven_

_and hotter than hell_"

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{**summary: **_one hundred ways to fall in love, one hundred ways to hurt the one you love. one hundred ways to come together, one hundred ways to fall apart. chou and tae, from the beginning to the end._}

{**rating: **_m for mature_}

{**story concept: **_inspired by the 100 themes challenge_}

{**written by: **_theladylepida_}

{**story length: **_1/100_}

{**pairing(s): **_chou/tae_} **  
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{**chapter: **_self-edited_}

{**other posting locations: **_archive of our own_}

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{**disclaimer**}

_**1. **__Rurouni Kenshin _© Nobuhiro Watsuki.

_**2. **__Drumming Song _© Florence + The Machine.

_**3. **__Bloodstream _© Stateless.

_**4. **_"_Variation 1 (100 Themes)_" © AngieChild.

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{**warnings/triggers for this chapter**}

- Mild violence involving: brief descriptions of _blood and/or__ gore_, _murder_, and some disturbing imagery/elements.

- Mild sexual content involving: mentions of _attempted__ rape/non-con_.

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_I think I might've inhaled you_

_I can feel you behind my eyes_

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|_014. "Smile"_|

His smile is sharper than his wild laughter, laughter echoing in the terrifying stillness of the dark alleyway, sharper than the blade he removes from the corpse of her would-be rapist (it is this moment that will have her hearing the slick sounds of torn flesh yielding to tempered steel in her dreams for the rest of her life). It's a strange thought that occurs, almost an urge in itself, daring her to reach out and touch his lips to see if she would be pulling back a bloody finger.

(Not that she would actually dare try it; her hands are shaking so hard that she can barely keep her kimono from flying open, her damaged obi and shredded sash having been discarded by that disgusting man and the assistance of his knife.)

Her savior's not a conventionally handsome man-not with his large beak of a nose and hay-colored hair that makes him look as if he had been struck by lightning at some point in his life-but the large, manic smile that graces his horse-like face seems to channel all the brilliance of the sun; she feels more blinded by it than by that of the brief, wicked gleam of the katana as he brought it down to deal the fatal blow.

The raw, open display of malice and sheer delight illuminating his face as he takes in his victim crumpled at his feet tells her all that she needs to know: he was not rescuing her. As her "savior" slides his tongue along the bloodied blade of his katana, eyes closing in ecstasy and his tall, hard body shuddering with pleasure, Tae presses herself against the alley wall, hoping that he won't turn his beautiful, dangerous smile on her.

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_You've gotten into my bloodstream_

_I can feel you flowing in me_

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{**chapter notes**}

_**1. **_Word Count: 291 (excluding song lyrics/chapter notes/chapter title)

_**2. **_Birth Dates: Created with utilizing what little information canon has given us and my own personal headcanons

|_Chou _- born circa 1851 (_Edo Period_), age 28 in 1879 (_Meiji Period_), the time-period in which the manga/anime took place|

|_Tae _- born circa 1858 (_Edo Period_), age 21 in 1879 (_Meiji Period_), the time-period in which the manga/anime took place|

*****_Don't worry about guessing their ages in this chapter; it'll be established soon since I'll be writing this story in chronological order._

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{**author notes**}

_**1. **_This is what happens when I rewatch an old anime for shits and giggles. I'm a very impulsive writer. :)

_**2. **_I swear, I'll get back to my Fargo fics eventually. I do have every intention of finishing them, but it may be awhile before I get back to them. When I'm writing for a fandom, I focus solely on that fandom. That's my personal drawback; I struggle if I try to write fics for multiple fandoms at the same time and eventually I get frustrated and don't get anything done at all. So yeah.

_**3. **_As for this fic itself, I was inspired by an old (updated in 2005!) unfinished fic with the same pairing and it cracked me up. (Obviously, this fic is going to be much darker, but I have a tendency towards writing dark stuff in general.) I've also been itching to write the 100 themes out for years, and I think this fic makes a perfect opportunity for me to do so. :)


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